A Summer to Remember
by KBHP
Summary: AU. Bonnie Bennett just wanted to have a fun summer working at the Mystic Grill and hanging out with her best friends. What she didn't want was a summer crush to take over her life. What she didn't want was to fall for Jeremy Gilbert.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, all. I'm Keyanna. I am a huge, huge fan of TVD and this came to me last night completely out of the blue so I thought I'd share it. I think it could be a really cool story. If you think I should continue show me some love and review! I'd appreciate some feedback. :) **

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She didn't understand it. She didn't want to understand it; she didn't even want to think it. All she did understand was that she had to be coming down with some sort of illness. One that attacked her psyche in a way that caused illusions, crazy thoughts and feelings, and extremely, extremely inappropriate dreams that she would never have had if she were illness-free; because if she was illness-free she would not, under any circumstances, by any stretch of the imagination, be attracted to an eighteen year old guy. Eighteen! And her best friend's little brother no less! Elena Gilbert would kill her! Murder her! And it wouldn't be 3rd degree murder, it would be 1st degree because it would be premeditated! Totally meditated!

But it's ok, because never, not in a million years, would she be with him. There were too many factors that made this wrong on _so_ many levels. One, she, Bonnie Bennett, will be a senior in college, and he will be a senior in High School, hi_gh school. _Two, his sister was her very best friend in the entire world and you don't cross that line. You just don't. Three, she practically watched him grow up. She helped babysit him with Elena when their parents went on date nights. Four, he has a girlfriend, a _girlfriend_; Vicki Donavan, who coincidentally is her oldest friend Matt's little sister. She's also a really nice girl and Matt would be so mad at her if she stole his sister's boyfriend. Not that she was thinking of stealing him. Not that he was into her for her to steal him away from her friend's sister for Matt to in turn be mad at her forever.

"Hey, Bonnie, can I get two snake bites and two of whatever's on tap tonight." Bonnie is slammed into reality as Jeremy Gilbert stands before her. She blinks several times trying to remember where she was before she went into her mental rant. Oh, yeah, she was at her shift at the _Mystic Grill_, where she has been working every summer since she turned at eighteen. She was wiping the counter when she heard Jeremy laugh and then, because she has no self-control, she had to look at him and be completely swept up, which in turn made her spiral into all the reasons why she was not allowed to love his laugh. Jeremy is staring at her. She shakes her head to clear the fog.

"You all right?" He asks a small smirk playing at his lips. She has been really distracted lately. If he wasn't her friend he would think she was going a little loco these days.

"Yeah, sure, I'm sorry. I just zoned out for a minute." She says smiling nervously. She turns her back on him grabbing the Yukon Jack and lime juice needed to make the shots he requested. After pouring the desired amounts of each into her mixer she shakes it furiously, letting the technique shake out all the wackiness in her brain these days. She has to get through this shift in one piece. She slides two shot glasses on the counter and pours the contents from her mixer into them. In what seems like a second she grabs two glasses fills them with beer and slides them on the bar as well. "Two snake bites and two beers." She announces.

"Thank you," he says chuckling and scoops each one onto his tray. Bonnie watches him walk away and sighs deeply. All she wanted this summer was to save up for her last year of college… to have some money to get her through the semester…that was it. But instead of seeing a summer of pool parties, barbeques, and drunken movie nights, she is nursing the possibility that she could be completely insane. She could very well be going mad, going fucking crazy, because she can't stop thinking about Jeremy Gilbert.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the reviews. I am really excited about writing this. I think its going to be a lot of fun. I wanted to give some backstory for Bonnie and Jeremy so we can see how and why her infatuation happened. That way going into the present we understand her situation. After this chapter there will be more Beremy moments and it'll really take off. Just stick with me. Hope you like it. :) **

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It all started when she came home the first week of April. She decided to stay home and not indulge in the typical smash face beach party extravaganza that is Spring Break. She opted to spend the week with her Grams knowing that it would feel long overdue since she didn't get that much time with her being away at school all the time. So she figured spending time with Grams all day and working the last shift at the grill at night was the perfect way to spend her spring break. She would bond with her Grams, the person she loved most in the world, and make some extra cash to take back to school with her. Why did she make this decision? Why?

Because by making this decision she had the opportunity to spend actual time with Jeremy and get to know Jeremy. A 6 hour shift with the same person everyday had more of an impact then she ever thought possible. She got to know the funny Jeremy who gave her an exasperated face when he had a rude table, the witty Jeremy who insulted, subtly, the cocky jocks that came in to give him a hard time, the sensitive Jeremy who patched up her bleeding hand after she dropped a shot glass shattering it and like an idiot decided to pick up the pieces instead of waiting for someone to sweep it up, and holy shit why did she have to get to know the sexy Jeremy whose smile made her melt and laugh bounced like a basketball until finally landing and making one continuous sound as it rolled. She didn't understand why she noticed little things about him. Or why her heart beat to the sound of a club dance mix. Or why she could not stop staring at his lips when he talked to her.

And if that wasn't enough to send her swirling into the depths of crazy town, the last night of her spring break, her last shift at the Grill, surely did. They were done inventory and were shifting cases of beer to the storage room. He said he would grab the last case and lock up and that she could go ahead home. But she didn't listen. Instead she grabbed the case walked in to the storage room to see him changing out of his Mystic Grill t-shirt. She remembered staring, _staring_ at him like an idiot. She was openly taking in his huge biceps, toned abs, and the V showing as his pants hung loosely on his hips. That V would haunt future dreams to come.

"Jesus-freaking-Christ," She had said dropping the case of beer and turning around the second she realized she was checking him out.

"I told you I was going to change and not to come back here." He had said completely oblivious to her reaction, chuckling. She cursed herself realizing he had said that but she, of course, was staring at mouth rather than listening to what was coming out of it.

"I'm sorry. You did say that." She watched a smirk on his lips as he walked past her, fully clothed, out of the storage room. She followed him and what she saw next would be her new nightmare: Vicki waiting by the front entrance and him greeting her with the most incredible smile she'd ever seen and then kissing her with the same lips she could not stop staring at. It felt like a punch to the gut. Like when you walk down the stairs and you think you missed a step. Like when you eat something really bad and you don't know whether to sit on the toilet or put your face in it. Like . . . well she could have gone on forever. All she knew was that it did NOT feel good and she did NOT like it.

In the months that followed he'd text her occasionally keeping her up to date with the latest Mystic Grill Gossip and hilarious anecdotes about his encounters with various classmates. This did not help at all. Because it made her feel like he missed her and she did NOT want to be missed. But it was inevitable. They had gotten to know each other over that week as more than just their normal labels as sister's best friend and best friend's brother. They had had FUN together during the slow nights when she taught him how to make signature drinks and sang loudly and badly to the juke box. They had inside jokes. They BONDED over the literature courses she was taking since he secretly had a love of literature himself quoting Wuthering Heights like it was the bible. They had, innocently on his part, become friends.

And this was the biggest mistake she had made because being friends with Jeremy was the best feeling in the world and she liked his company and she liked talking to him and that's when the insanity truly began. That's when the small cough turned into sneezing, sore throat, and high fever. And this summer being around him for 6 days a week would NOT keep her symptoms at bay. Especially since it was the summertime and he'd be in wife beaters and shorts and she'd have to be around him almost every day for two and a half months. She had no solution in site. All she knew was that she was in deep shit.

"So those two macho men over there," _Why_ did he insist on doing that? She'd never figure out how to stop this ridiculousness if he kept interrupting her thoughts. "They want two Malibu Bay Breezes." He laughs shaking his head in amusement. She laughs too the tension from her mental break down thawing out.

"We are here to serve not judge." She says smirking. Jeremy leans on the bar and she turns around to mix the drinks.

"I think we can judge a little bit." He says smiling. "I mean, come on, they look like wrestlers. Shouldn't they be ordering a pitcher and shots of bourbon?" Bonnie chuckles as she fills up the cups and sits them on his tray.

"Do you drink Bourbon?"

"Oh, no it's disgusting." He says making a face. Bonnie laughs. He winks a thanks and heads back over to deliver the drinks.

"Only a manly man could admit that." She says as he is walking away and turns back and flexes a bicep laughing. She shakes her head turning to a new customer that just sat down in front of her.

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**Reviews are welcome. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks so much for reviewing. I really appreciate it. I'm enjoying writing this story a lot. Its so much fun so I'm happy that people are enjoying it with me. Here is the new chapter. There's some Beremy moments that I think you'll love. Enjoy. :)**

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"All right, now all you need is the pineapple juice. Don't put too much or it'll overpower the apple." Jeremy pours a measured amount in the cup and Bonnie chuckles at how incredibly focused he is. And he should be. Making the perfect Applesauce Shot pitcher was serious business. Bonnie loved teaching him how to make drinks. It was fun and he seemed to really enjoy it. And he was good at it too. Always put the exact amounts needed, a perfectionist. It was _so_ cute. He was pouring the shots into shot glasses now and Bonnie was able to tear her eyes away from his furrowed brows long enough to take a look at the color of the concoction. _Perfect._ She smiled and picked up the shot.

"Cheers!" She says touching her glass with his and downing it in the same beat. It went down smooth and it was delicious.

"So?" He says looking all nervous.

"Awesome. That was perfect, Jer." She says. Jeremy gives her a big smile. And that was why he was behind the bar and she was sitting on the other side like a customer. Smiles like that make a girl go weak in the knees and there was no need for that to happen tonight.

"Yes," He says throwing a fist in the air. Bonnie laughs and gets up from her seat. She goes behind the bar and starts to clean up the mess they made.

"We should probably _actually_ close up. It's been an hour already." She says chuckling. Jeremy looks at his watch and his eyes widen a little.

"Shit, yeah, it has been. I was supposed to meet Vicki at the Move Up Bonfire," Bonnie swallows the urge to suck her teeth at his girlfriend's name. She didn't hate the girl. She didn't even dislike the girl. She just would rather she date some other boy her age. Selfish, she knew but a girl could dream.

"Aww, you still do that? Celebrate being seniors? So cute," Bonnie says teasingly. Jeremy chuckles. "Well why don't you go? I'll clean this up and lock up." She says feeling all proud like she's the bigger woman or something. Jeremy looks at her.

"You sure," He says.

"Yeah, yeah, go and be big man on campus with your cool senior friends." Jeremy laughs at her and shakes his head.

"Thanks, Bon. You're the best." He squeezes her forearm slightly disappearing in the back to grab his things. When he emerges a few seconds later with his backpack, Bonnie is still staring at the spot where he touched her. She can't stop it from tingling and its annoying the fuck out of her.

"See you," She says after sort of hearing him say the same thing as he raced out the door. She puts the glasses in the sink and begins washing them hoping that it'll take her mind off of him touching her.

These past two weeks haven't been easy but she was getting through them the best she could. They fell back into their spring break routine fairly quickly. And she fell into her routine instantly. It was like when she got back to school she could erase him and what she felt for him because he wasn't there but as soon as she saw him it was it hit her all over again and he had no clue. Not a one; which was fine by her. Things would get really complicated really fast if he ever found out about her crush and if by some break in the time space continuum he felt the same way that would pose an even bigger problem because she wasn't sure she could say no to him. But that would never happen. NEVER. So she had absolutely nothing to worry about. She just had to learn to live with it. Admit it in her mind and move on. She was probably falling for her best friend's little brother and that was ok because sometimes being infatuated with someone you would never be with was good. It built character.

"Yes," She says out loud agreeing with her own thoughts. And that was that.

"I still cannot believe I got a C in Professor Gibson's class. Like really, dude? I worked my ass off!" Bonnie rolls her eyes at her best friend smiling warmly.

"You never went, Care!" She says incredulously. Caroline scoffs and runs her fingers through her silky blonde hair.

"Yeah, he didn't even know your name he kept calling you Clementine." Elena says popping another popcorn kernel in her mouth. Bonnie bursts out laughing and Elena joins her. Caroline flips to the next page of her magazine trying to look offended.

"You guys suck." She says a smirk playing at her lips. Bonnie shakes her head still laughing. They were posted in Elena's living room: Caroline on the love seat sitting upright while her long legs were extended out in front of her. Elena was stretched out on the smallest chair her legs over the arm. And Bonnie was on the main sofa stretched out on her stomach. She loved nights like these: movie nights with just the girls. They would choose a movie (that they never actually watched), laughed (mostly at each other), and vented about whatever was plaguing them that week. No matter where they were or who was mad at whom, they had to have their movie night. It was where it all went down. It was where everything just made sense. No matter what was going on she knew that on Friday night she'd sit down with her girls, laugh, and drink, stuff her face, and all would be right in the world. Some might say that things like this, sleepovers with your girlfriends, should stop once you turn a certain age but it never fazed them. It was their thing. It made them a unit. It made them best friends. And they would always be that way.

"Okay so highs?" Elena asks her eyes narrowing as she thinks of an answer to her own question. Bonnie thinks for a second. High and low was something they had done their whole lives. Every week they'd tell each other their highs of the week and their lows of the week. They knew each other so well sometimes that they'd know it before anyone said it.

"High: Getting the chance to be a lifeguard with the devilishly handsome Tyler Lockwood for the summer." Caroline almost says immediately. Elena and Bonnie roll their eyes teasingly.

"Here we go," Elena says. "Her new summer love," Bonnie smirks. Caroline was famous for her summer romances ever since they first became interested in boys. Every summer she'd find some mysterious hottie to call hers for the summer and then when it was time to go back to school in the fall she'd dump them. Her excuse: Can't have too much of a good thing.

"High: Getting the chance to be a summer camp counselor." Elena says smiling brightly. Bonnie smiles too. Elena loved working with children. She was an education major and Bonnie knew she would be a great teacher one day.

"High," Bonnie stopped to think longer. Her list of highs had one common theme and she did not want to use any of them. Jeremy asking her to teach him how to make the perfect Lemon Drop Martini, successfully walking past Jeremy without tripping all over herself, learning that he had exactly six smiles, singing "I Love Rock and Roll" at the top of their lungs. She couldn't say any of that. They all included Jeremy and though they were coworkers they would get suspicious if every week she had the same person in all of her highs. "Perfecting my lemon drop martini," She says finally. Leaving out Jeremy was easy for that one.

"Cool beans." Elena says taking a handful of popcorn and stuffing it into her mouth.

"How about lows," Caroline says. "Mine is seeing that damn C, fucked up my GPA for the semester. I would have had a 3.5 and now I have a 3.3." She flips another page in her magazine. "Mandals wearing bastard," She says mostly to herself. Bonnie laughs her high ponytail shaking as she tried to stop. Caroline chuckles.

"Ooo low would definitely be when I spilled fruit punch all over myself and had no other shirt to change into so I had a congregation of flies following me all day every time I went outside with the kids." The girls laugh. Bonnie sits up on the couch and folds her legs like a pretzel once again needing time to think. Hmm…When Jeremy left her to go make out with his girlfriend…Jeremy switching shifts Monday to help out a coworker leaving her to close up with stupid Pricilla Peabody who would NOT stop talking about her nail beds…Jeremy catching her staring at him like idiot while he waited on a table.

"Low: having to close with Pricilla Monday. She is SO annoying, sweet girl but just annoying as hell." She says. "She kept asking me about my cuticle care. Jesus Christ. Who even says that?" They all laugh. When their laughter dies down they hear the door open and shut signaling someone was home. Jeremy walks in to the living room a few minutes later.

"Hey, Jer," Elena says smiling. Caroline waves. Bonnie just stares as per usual. She really needed to get that in check.

"Did I miss the highs and lows?" He asks smirking remembering eavesdropping on many of their confessions over the years. They let him in on it every once in a while once he got older.

"Yup, we all went." Caroline says. Jeremy plops down next to Bonnie on the sofa. She groans under her breath not enjoying the proximity. He's dressed in a pale blue tank and printed shorts with traces of pale blue, orange, and yellow and his feet are covered in black van sneakers. He looked good as always. She concluded.

"All right, well my high was perfecting the lemon drop martini taught by Ms. Bonnie Bennett." He says smiling.

"Really, you're teaching my underage brother how to make the perfect martini?" Elena says pretending to be annoyed. "He's going to be an alcoholic by the time he's 20." Bonnie shrugs not able to form words because of the fact that he picked the exact same moment she did. For different reasons probably but still how cool was that?

"Please, sis, I've been drinking keg beer since I was 11 and you gave it to me!"

"Only because you found me and Caroline sneaking it and you wouldn't shut up until we gave you some. Wasn't our fault it became a tradition."

"And it was a sip." Caroline chimes in. "You graduated to red solo cup status all on your own, buddy." They all laugh probably replaying the same memories in their head.

"Ok. Low," he says. "Um, probably switching shifts Monday," he says. "Day shift is not nearly as cool as night." He looks at Bonnie and she laughs shaking her head. Now THAT was pretty cool.

"Tell me about it I was stuck with Priscilla Monday night. I don't know what she was trying to do to my hands but it felt like sexual harassment." Bonnie says. Jeremy laughs his eyes crinkling at the corners. Bonnie glances at Caroline casually and swears she sees something like suspicion. She lets her laugh trail off and clears her throat glancing at Elena. Elena is chuckling as she finishes off the popcorn.

"Have fun, girls. I'm heading to bed." Jeremy jumps up from the sofa. "See you tomorrow night, Bon." He says heading out of the living room and up the stairs.

"Night," she responds and watches him until he disappears up the stairs. When she turns back to her friends Elena is standing up and heading towards the kitchen, probably to get more popcorn but Caroline is staring at her. Full on Caroline "You're caught" face. That was for sure suspicion she saw in her eyes a moment ago. _Uh-oh._ Caroline broke the eye contact first watching Elena until she disappeared into the kitchen. Then she rounded on her.

"Interesting that you and Jeremy had the same high and low, huh," She asked. Bonnie swallowed.

"Um, sure, I guess." She says mentally patting herself on the back for sounding so collected. Caroline closes her magazine and sits it down on the coffee table.

"Mmm-hmm," She says. One of her eyebrows raises knowingly. Bonnie ignores her and grabs the remote to the DVD player off the table. She pushes play and watches the opening credits roll on to the screen. Elena returns a few moments later with a new bowl of popcorn, a bag of Doritos secured by her mouth, a box of little brownies hiding inside the popcorn bowl, and a 2 liter soda.

"Mom just went shopping. SCORE," She says after sitting everything down in front of them.

"You are a bottomless pit," Caroline says.

"College life. With all the crappy food we eat being home is heaven. I can't stop!" Elena says stuffing a brownie in her mouth. Bonnie digs in determined to ignore Caroline's looks for the remainder of the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**So you have probably been wondering why Bonnie has been such a mess. I mean either you like the kid or not, right? Either you want him to crush on you or not, right? There were many reasons why she was feeling guilty about having feelings for Jeremy but you are about to find out the real reason why Bonnie is such a mess. Its a twist you probably didn't see coming. At least I hope you didn't. I wrote it so that you wouldn't. Hehe. Anywho here it is. I hope you like it! :)**

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"So as I'm chasing after the stupid kid so I could tell him up close and personal that there is no diving in the pool three of his little jerks-in-training friends push me in! I was _so _pissed off I could barely breath." Caroline is sitting at the bar nursing a beer as she tells Bonnie about her day at work. Its a few hours or so before closing time and Bonnie was only half listening to her story. She caught about every third word. It was enough to let her know what was being said without actually having to care. She had been feeling crappy this whole week not being able to show attention and get attention from her favorite person in the world. She had successfully frozen Jeremy out for a week. She didn't laugh like an idiot at his stupid jokes. He'd ask her for drink orders and she'd smile at him just like any of her other coworkers. It was the only way to get over this . . .this thing that was happening. If spring break would have never happened she would have never developed this crush so she needed to treat him just like anybody else.

"Did you get out and dunk them?" Bonnie asks wiping off the tap before filling three pitches and sliding them on a tray for one of the waitresses. She leans on the bar deciding to give Caroline her full attention.

"You're damn right I did. Little shit." She says smiling triumphantly. Bonnie chuckles. She stops when she sees Jeremy coming up to the bar.

"What do you need?" She asks when he approaches.

"Two pitchers of Blue Moon," he says. Bonnie serves it up for him with a smile. He returns a small one.

"Thanks," He says and walks away.

"Well someone's being a bitch." Caroline says looking from her to Jeremy.

Bonnie looks at her. "What?"

"You were kind of standoffish with him just now. What happened? You guys aren't bffs anymore?" Bonnie rolls her eyes.

"We were never bffs." She says. Caroline smirks and then shrugs. Bonnie looks at the door casually and sees Vicki walk in the door. . .with a guy that is not Jeremy.

"What the hell?" She says watching them walk hand in hand to a booth.

"Oh, you don't know?" Caroline says looking in that direction as well.

"Know what?" Bonnie says folding her arms bracing herself for whatever was about to come.

"Vicki broke up with him last week."

"What?" Bonnie practically yells causing a few tables to look over at her in confusion. She mouths a sorry. "Vicki broke up with _him_?" She says incredulously.

"Yeah, Elena told me today when her kids came by the pool. He's been really down about it apparently. " She glances over at him with a pout. "Poor guy,"

"Why in the hell did she break up with him?" Caroline shrugs.

"I don't know but the little skank obviously moved on pretty quickly in the past two weeks. Lester Lovelace."

"Lester Lovelace? Are you _fucking_ kidding me? He's a loser. " Bonnie says her eyes narrowed in anger. She looks over at Jeremy and becomes even more upset. "Can we kill her? No, that's jail time. I could spike her coke with a laxative next time she's here. Nobody would ever know."

"You're the bartender. Everyone would know." Caroline says laughing.

"I can't believe her. What does she think _Lester Lovelace_ is better than Jeremy? I never did like her, though. She's a complete idiot with a new boyfriend who has the dumbest name in history. _Lovelace_ what the hell is that?" She scoffs and unfolds her arms needing something to do with her hands after feeling the urge to punch something. She looks at Caroline.

"What?" Bonnie says as Caroline is smiling at her. "What are you smiling at?"

"Um, nothing, you are just really super upset." She takes a swig of her beer slowly.

"Well," She needed to save herself right now. She was the idiot for having an outburst like that. If Caroline wasn't already suspicious she certainly was now. "It's just sad to break a guy's heart like that especially someone like Jeremy who is really sweet and funny and nice." She wasn't helping things. _Shit._

"Mmhmm." Caroline says. "Totally get it."

"He can do so much better anyway." She takes the dish towel from the sink and starts to wipe down the bar. Wondering why she had to have word vomit _right now_ in front of Caroline of all people.

"He can do better, huh? Better as in . . . _you_?" Bonnie feels like a train just struck her in the face. She looks up at Caroline slowly and sees a grin on her face.

"Wipe the stupid grin off. Wipe it now." Bonnie says through clenched teeth. Caroline covers her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud. "I hate you." The jig was up.

"You have a crush on Jeremy!" Caroline exclaims. Bonnie slaps her arm. "That's why you've been being mean to him? You trying to _get over it_ or something? When did this happen? How? Oh my God." Caroline says still giggling.

"_Nothing_ is happening. He doesn't even know. I don't even know. You _shouldn't_ know."

"What are you so uptight for? You should tell him. He's only had a crush on you forever."

"What?" She says incredulously. "You are making stuff up."

"Why do you think he joined us for movie nights? Certainly wasn't because he had a thing for Ryan Gosling." Bonnie bites back a laugh shaking her head.

"You are ridiculous. We didn't even talk until we started working here together."

"Whatever. He's _always_ had a crush on you. Elena and I would tease him about it all the time." Caroline finishes off her second beer. "Another please! So if that's what you are worried about Elena wouldn't care." Bonnie takes her empty bottle and tosses it. She grabs another and pops the top off sliding it to her.

"Are you kidding? She hates the girls he dates that are _his_ age what do you think she'd do to me?"

"Oh, come on. Jeremy's super mature for his age and so what if he wasn't. He's awesome, you're awesome and two awesome people should be able to make out. It's not like he's 16 and you're 22. He's 18 and about to graduate high school. Sounds like an awesome love story to me." Bonnie continues to shake her head.

"We are done talking about this, Care. Just promise me you won't tell Elena because _nothing_ is going to happen between me and Jeremy." Caroline rolls her eyes which are a little glazed over from her third beer.

"You are _so_ stubborn, you know that?" Bonnie smiles.

"Yep, learn from the best." Caroline scoffs. She finishes off her beer and grabs her purse.

"Well, for whatever its worth, I think you should tell him. I mean what's the worst that could happen?" Bonnie scoffs in frustration not because of Caroline's persistence but because she couldn't figure out an answer to the question.

"You're walking right?" Bonnie asks. Caroline nods smoothing out her sundress.

"Yes, mom, I'm walking. You're going to the Lockwood Red, White, and Blue Barbeque tomorrow, right?" Bonnie nods. It was a tradition. The whole town showed up for their annual July 4th party.

"Ok. See you tomorrow." Caroline winks and walks away having no idea what she just done to her oldest friend.

It was closing time and Jeremy had just flipped the sign from open to close. He was stacking chairs and completely silent. Bonnie was washing her station down, cleaning glasses and mixers. After Caroline left it didn't get much busier. Friday nights were usually slow since most of the young people in the town turned to the woods for bonfires and underage drinking. Bonnie refused to serve any of Jeremy's schoolmates which they hated but she wasn't going to lose her job. She loved her job. Not that giving bartending lessons to Jeremy was any better but nobody could prove that. That was just their thing when nobody was there.

"Hey, Jer," She calls.

"Yeah," He says.

"I saw Vicki today." Jeremy finishes busting a table and walks towards her.

"Yeah," He says not looking at her.

"I didn't know you two had broken up. That sucks."

"Yup," he says walking past her and through the door towards the kitchen. Bonnie licks her dry lips confused. She follows him. She doesn't like this. She doesn't like it at all. This was a really, really bad idea to freeze him out. What was she thinking of? He's obviously mad at her.

"Is there a problem?" she says to his back as he washes dishes. He doesn't turn around.

"No," he says.

"If there is, you can tell me."

"There's not a problem." He says matter-of-factly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup," he says. Bonnie shakes her head feeling defeated and turns to walk away. "What the hell is up with you?"

"What?" she says. Jeremy grabs the towel hanging on the sink and starts to dry his hands.

"I mean today you care about my girlfriend dumping me but tomorrow you won't even look at me and then the next day you'll be staring at me while I work all day and then later we'll be making jokes like we're best friends."

"I do not stare at you." She says outraged. What the hell was he talking about? What the hell was going on?

"That's what you got out of what I said?" He laughs dryly.

"There isn't anything going on. I've just been . . . treating you like I treat everybody."

"So I'm everybody now."

"What else would you be, Jeremy?" she says completely breathless from him talking to her like this. He shakes his head and walks past her back out into the restaurant. Bonnie feels tears threatening her eyes and she tries to pull herself together before going back out. When she walks through the door Jeremy is heading out.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're mad because I'm not training you to be my bartending understudy; because I don't feel like singing Whitney Houston at the top of my lungs? What's the big deal?" Jeremy lets out a loud groan of frustration. What. The. Hell. Was. Happening?

"When the boss asked you what shift you wanted why did you choose the closing shift?" Bonnie thinks two months back and pauses for effect. She knew exactly how to answer that question but answering it was very, very dangerous.

"Because you worked closing," She says feeling defeated.

"And why did you want to work with me?" he asks his anger gone in an instant and his voice soft. He walks over to her and stands in front. She looks up at him. Was he always that tall?

"Because we had fun together over spring break,"

"And," He says suddenly way too close to her.

"Because I wanted an excuse to hang out with you," She looks down feeling defeated. He lifts her chin so she is looking at him again. Bonnie's mouth goes dry.

"So why are you treating me like Pricilla Peabody all of a sudden?"

"Because I shouldn't be finding excuses to hang out with you, Jeremy," She says turning away from him.

"You said we would stay friends, Bonnie."

"We are friends, Jer. You were with Vicki. You had a girlfriend. I thought you moved on and I needed to move on. I admit it wasn't my best plan to ignore you all week but I gotta do what I gotta do."

"You think ignoring me is going to fix it?" Bonnie shakes her head refusing to go down this road. They solved it. They had solved it. She was driving herself completely mad pretending all this time but they had solved the problem a long time ago.

"Let's just go home. I don't want to talk about this." She grabs her purse off of the hook on the wall and heads towards the door.

"I still think about it. I still think about it every single day. Yeah I was with Vicki but it was really only to past the time. She broke up with me because she thought it was someone else" He says stopping her in her tracks. She slings her bag over her shoulder. He was _not_ about to bring up what she thought he was about to bring up. "And there is someone else."

"Jeremy, don't." She says. She feels him behind her and her eyes close. She inhales deeply.

"You said that if we pretended it didn't happen and never talked about it again then we'd be able to at least be friends that nothing would change between us. But if you do stuff like _this_ freezing me out. Treating me like some annoyance in your life that you want to get rid of you aren't living up to your part of the deal." He says. Bonnie doesn't speak but her mind is going a mile a minute. She was tired. She was extremely exhausted. But it wasn't work that was tiring her out. It was _this_.

"You're not an annoyance, Jeremy. I just. . ." She turns around to face him and is surprised when his face is inches from her own. Her eyes immediately go his mouth and she swallows.

"You're just what?"

"We can't do this, Jeremy." She says. She doesn't know if he heard her she doesn't even know if _she_ heard her. She has lost her voice. So she might not have let her mind reveal everything. She might not have come to terms with the _real_ reason why she couldn't get Jeremy out of her mind. Why she was going nuts. What had gotten her to this point of being two seconds away from a straight jacket and a pill everyday inside a tiny paper cup? The last night she was in Mystic Falls something had happened, something that she didn't expect. Something that has plagued her dreams every day since.

"Why not?" He asks swallowing thickly.

"We already talked about why not. You _know_ why not. It was a mistake. What happened was a mistake. We were drunk."

"I wasn't drunk." Jeremy says. Bonnie scoffs.

"Well I was drunk and wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry I've been acting like a bitch these days. I'll stop. It was stupid of me. I'm sorry. We can go back to being friends and having fun and keep carrying on like we were before."

"Maybe I can't keep carrying on like that. Maybe I want more. You can't keep playing me like this. One minute I'm your favorite person and the next I'm the enemy. You were the one who didn't want to start this. I was ready to break up with Vicki." He says.

"I KNOW." She says completely frustrated. "I know, ok? And I'm sorry. For the millionth time I'm sorry." They stare at each other for several seconds. It seems like minutes. It seems like hours.

"Fuck this," He says and before she can stop him his lips are on hers and she can't think. She can't move. She can't breathe. All she can do his wrap her arms around his neck respond to his kiss. It was like seeing an old friend after years of being away from each other. It was Christmas morning. It was like coming home with a pillow case full of candy on Halloween. It was like hearing your favorite song on the radio after a long day. It was like coming home. And she didn't want it to stop. She knew she should be stopping it especially when the tears starting streaming down her face. Tears of frustration at the face that no matter what Caroline said Bonnie knew how protective Elena was of her brother. She was crossing a line that she shouldn't be. She _had _crossed a line long before this kiss happened.

She had, on that last night of Spring Break, completely wasted from celebrating being away from Caroline and Elena for an entire week, instead of walking home, walked to Elena's house. Elena had decided to stay out with Caroline and Bonnie had told them that she needed to go home and get some sleep since she had the first shift driving back to school in the morning. She had texted him that she was outside of his house and before her brain could register what she was about to do. Jeremy had come to the door a minute later and before she could talk herself out of it she had kissed him. Kissed him until they were both dizzy and he had responded almost immediately. What was happening now him pushing her up against the nearest wall, kissing her senseless was PG-13. What they had done that night was way beyond that. She had followed him up to his bedroom quietly as to not wake his parents. She had slept with her best friend's brother. She slept with Jeremy Gilbert. And that changed everything. Just like this moment she was in now would also change everything. It would be harder to pretend once they made the agreement to just be friends. Harder to keep up the charade that the night they shared together meant absolutely nothing once she realized she wanted more with him. She was going to lose more than her mind after they ripped their lips from one another's. She could possibly lose her best friend's trust, her best friend's friendship, and from the way she was feeling she was probably going to lose her heart. . .


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello loyal readers! Fresh new chapter for you! And its full of Beremy goodness so I really hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much for those who have reviewed, followed, alerted, etc. I appreciate it so much you don't even understand. Here's the next chapter. Reviews are, as always, muchly appreciated. :)**

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She was wearing a white sundress. White was her favorite color to wear. She always looked amazing in bright colors and had been told so by many people. It made her mocha complexion stick out like the sun and she loved that. She always thought she had the prettiest brown skin. Walking into the town square she immediately smiled at all of the decorations for the day's festivities. Everything was stationed off like a 4th of July carnival. There was food, music, and every type of activity that anyone could dream of: games, petting zoos, American flag making, lessons on how fireworks are made, and even a kiss Uncle Sam kissing booth that she giggled at when she realized that Matt Donovan was the first poor sap up for a shift. She walks over to him ready to tease him. He sees her coming and rolls his eyes.

"I'm ready for it. Lay it on me," He says smiling. Bonnie laughs.

"You look adorable!" She says teasing her oldest friend.

"It's for charity. All proceeds go towards Mystic Falls education." He says. Bonnie giggles again and hands him a twenty from her purse.

"This better be the best kiss I've ever had!" She says. He laughs at one of his best friends and plants a sweet best friend kiss on her cheek.

"Best you ever had?" He says when they pull away.

"MTV Movie Awards worthy," She says and they both laugh. Bonnie clears her throat. "This is even bigger than last year, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. But you know how the Lockwoods are: bigger is better."

"Think they're compensating for something?" Matt laughs.

"Probably," Bonnie looks around.

"Where are Moe and Curly? Have you seen them?" She says referring to her other two best friends. Matt smiles.

"Oh, yeah, I got to plant a nice one on Caroline. Think she's finally warming up to the idea." Bonnie rolls her eyes smiling widely. Matt had had a thing for Caroline since they were kids but Caroline just never caught on. Guess they were the same in that way except Bonnie wasn't 4 years old when Matt was born. She shakes her head clear of thoughts of Jeremy. God, could she go 5 minutes without relating something to him.

"The girls are over at the arts and craft table. They want a flag to take back to the dorm with them." Matt says. "Watch Caroline, though, she's totally stealing all of the best supplies for herself. I heard her get into it with a 6 year old a little while ago." Bonnie laughs and nods at his warning walking away. Matt was like a warm hug. His friendship just consumed you. You had no choice but to respond to it and hope that you were as good a friend to him as he was to you. Approaching the flag station she could hear Caroline arguing with a child again. She rolled her eyes a laugh already trying to burst through. There was never a dull moment with Caroline.

"Seriously, you need five pounds of glitter? You've been using it for like five minutes! I need it!" She was talking to a ten year old girl that Bonnie recognized was one of her neighbor's kids.

"I can use as much glitter as I want to. You're old! You're not even s'pose to be here!" She said holding her ground against the 22 year old.

"I have as much right to make a flag as you. What arts and crafts are only restricted for 5 year olds?"

"I'm 10 for your information!"

"And for _your_ information there aren't 13 stars on the American flag! I'd expect a 10 year old to know _that_ information!" Caroline says folding her arms with attitude.

"Well _for you information _it's inspired by the colonial flag when there were only 13 states in existence! I would think a 40 year old would know _that_ information!" The little girl says and throws a handful of glitter in Caroline's face.

"You little sh-!"

"CAROLINE!" Bonnie shouts pulling her away from the station laughing hysterically.

"I'll see you when you're 18!" She shouts to her.

"You'll be dead by then, grandma!" The little girl shouts back. Bonnie pulls her towards the food station.

"Are you kidding me? You're fighting with a little kid?" Bonnie says trying to sound serious. Caroline smoothes out her dress and flips her hair.

"I am _never_ having kids, you hear me?" She says ignoring Bonnie's question. Bonnie nods her head.

"Let's go get some food, you wack job." She proposes. "That's probably where Elena is." And sure enough Elena is packing a plate full of potato salad, pasta salad, hot dogs, and hamburgers as they walk up.

Night had just fell in Mystic Falls and everyone was scattered around the town square to find a comfortable spot for the fireworks. Bonnie knew the display was going to be bigger than last year and she was excited. Fireworks were always her favorite part of 4th of July. There were many things she enjoyed but the fireworks always seemed like magic to her. She loved them. Caroline and Elena had ditched her for their respective summer boy toys and she had searched for Matt with to avail figuring he was off helping out with something. He was such a busy guy. She found a perfect spot a little away from the crowd of people so she could enjoy the magic on her own in her own way. It was peaceful even though she could still hear the chatter from the crowd but only vaguely. She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of summer in the night time and smiled. She inhaled for a second time and suddenly the air had changed. She sighs and opens her eyes.

"Seriously," She whispers to herself. She looks to her right and sees Jeremy standing a few feet away from her his eyes planted on the night sky.

"Hey," He says softly when he feels her staring at him.

"Hey," Bonnie says back. He sits down next to her.

"Is this a set up?" she says folding her legs like a pretzel and smoothing her dress out.

"What?" He asks. Bonnie rolls her eyes.

"Nothing," She says. "This is my favorite spot to watch the fireworks."

"I didn't know that," He says innocently. She smirks.

Jeremy smiles at her revealing himself. He never could lie to her even when he was a kid. What took Elena weeks for Jeremy to admit he did, took barely an hour for her. She should have known. Bonnie turns away from him and looks back up at the sky.

"I can go and find another spot if you want," He says breaking the silence between them. Bonnie runs her fingers through her silky chocolate brown hair. She looks at him.

"No, its fine," She says softly licking her full lips which had suddenly become dry. Jeremy presses his lips together to bite his tongue and looks up at the sky as the first burst of light illuminates the sky with bright colors.

They sit for several minutes watching the display with wonder but Bonnie is distracted by his presence not able to sit still for even a minute. Bonnie allows herself one look, one time to openly gaze at him. She turns her head slowly and takes in his appearance. His dark hair was in its natural state just flowing with the wind. The fireworks were brightening his dark intense eyes. She skipped his lips knowing she couldn't handle that. He was wearing a red thin short-sleeve button down with the first few buttons opened to reveal some of his soft skin and white shorts with navy blue vans. He was perfect. There was no doubt about that. It was a fact. She turns her head to the sky and tries to steady her heartbeat. Jeez. This was getting harder and harder. After a few more minutes she feels Jeremy's eyes on her.

"Yes?" She says blushing without her permission.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" He says heavily. She looks at him.

"Jeremy," She says through a breath.

"You have the prettiest skin." He says dragging a finger down her arm.

"Thank you," She says stammering slightly. "But you shouldn't say things like that to me. It isn't appropriate."

"Well what if I don't want to be appropriate anymore?" He says lowly. Bonnie feels dizzy and she's sure it's not from the 4th of July punch. Then again Mrs. Lockwood was known to be heavy handed with the vodka.

"Then you'd be wrong. It's wrong. Elena would-" Jeremy groans with frustration and leans into her so she can hear him more clearly. As if they weren't already secluded from everyone. Bonnie is taken aback by his closeness but doesn't move.

"You've been using my sister and my age as an excuse for months now, Ms. Bennett, and I simply refuse to accept them anymore. My sister loves us both and she would _not_ keep us apart just because it weirds her out or anything like that. Realistically she's probably going to be taken aback but she isn't selfish." He says matter of factly.

"Jer, we agreed it was a mistake," She says softly.

"You don't make the same mistake twice in one night, Bon, and I'm sure you were a little sober by then." He says. Bonnie shakes her head blushing fiercely.

"Why can't we just be friends?" She says as she starts to get up, the fireworks were coming to an end. Jeremy watches her, his anger growing with every move she makes to leave him. She successfully grabs all of her favors and prizes from the various booths. Jeremy gets up and follows her back to the square where the festivities were back up and running.

"Go ahead. Run away like you always do." Jeremy says sourly. Bonne's eyes narrow and she turns around abruptly catching him off guard.

"What do you want, Jeremy?" She asks looking around to make sure their scene isn't alarming anyone.

"I want you to be honest with me. I know that what happened between us wasn't a mistake. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you don't feel what I'm feeling?" Bonnie tries to hold form the words. She opens and closes her mouth a few times before she finally can speak.

"I don't," She says evenly. Jeremy's eyes narrow.

"Liar!" He spits so angrily that the people around them look start to look at them curiously. Bonnie looks away from him, she couldn't deal with this.

"This is ridiculous. You're acting like a child." She says finally. Jeremy's nostrils flare as he tries to keep his temperature under control.

"I'm the one acting like a child? How am I the one acting like a child when you're the one trying to hide the fact that you stole a cookie from the cookie jar?" His words eat at her and his desperate, angry tone is puncturing her heart. She starts walking away again. Jeremy follows her pushing past people politely as she tries to get away. Red, Blue, and White balloons release everywhere as they walk, laughter, children playing, and confetti as well but they don't hear any of it. They are in their own bubble and there is so much going on that no one notices them either.

"You're my best friend's brother." Bonnie says in almost a pleading voice.

"So what," Jeremy says grabbing her arm to stop her.

"I've practically watched you grow up."

"In a sense, yes," Jeremy says to her back.

"It's not right. It's just a line that you know is invisible to the naked eye so you never really talk about it but you know it's there so you do everything in your power not to come across." Jeremy looks into her eyes taking in her words as true but it doesn't make him budge.

"I see your point, Bonnie. I really truly do but that doesn't change the fact that I want you and it is _not_ going away just because you keep throwing out the negative what ifs." Bonnie sighs.

"Jer," She says breathlessly hanging her head in exhaustion. Nothing seems to be getting through to him. "There are tons of girls your own age that you can date. Why would you want the most complicated situation you can find?" Jeremy's eyes narrow and he shakes his head. He looks back up at her and the same silky strand of hair that is always hanging by her eyes is once again driving him crazy falls. He grabs it seeing her shudder and pushes the hair behind her ear, his thumb running along her cheek slowly. She falls into his eyes.

"Just because it's complicated doesn't mean it shouldn't happen, Bonnie. You make me feel something that I have never felt before for anyone." His forehead creases in confliction as he tries to think of a word to describe it but right now he can't. "If this is what complicated feels like. How I feel right now talking to you? Then I want it more than I want my next breathe." He says. Bonnie feels her eyes well up with tears. No one has ever said anything like that to her before.

"Jer," is all she manages to say. He lets go of her cheek and Bonnie feels the imprint of his hand after it leaves her.

"All I'm saying, Bonnie, is that what if this is real? What if Elena is happy for us? What if what happened between us was always meant to be? And I know we're young but what if _this_ is it and we don't have to search anymore? Have you ever considered _those_ what ifs even for a second? And if you have then I think it's all worth it and I don't think we should give up. I don't want to because I want you more than I've wanted anything in my life and I'm not going to let you mess this up because you're scared."

"I'm not sca-" she says trying to defend her but Jeremy cuts her off.

"Because nobody has ever showed you how much you deserve someone to. . ." he stops talking as he sees tears start to drop from her eyes. He wipes them with the side of his index fingers.

"Love you the way that I'm ready to love you." Bonnie stares at him for several seconds taking in his words, feeling overwhelmed and anxious once she realizes people are starting to notice their exchange. She puts her head down wiping away her tears and putting herself back together the best she can.

"I just. . ." she clears her throat trying to find her voice. "I just need some time to think, to figure this all out. It isn't as simple as you're making it sound." Jeremy sighs. She can see it in his eyes, the hope fading and it breaks her heart. But it isn't as simple as he is making it. No matter how they feel about each other it isn't just about _them_. "Jeremy, its not just about you and me. We _don't_ know how Elena is going to react to this and it scares me to think that I could lose my best friend. She means the world to me."

"And I don't?" He shouts causing people to pay _more _attention to them.

"Jeremy, don't yell at me." She says taking a step back. He grabs her arm and pulls her away behind one of the booths where no one can be privy to their exchange any longer.

"I just poured my heart out to you and you are still saying no? _I'm_ the one that should be angry! I'm the one that shouldn't trust _you_! I had to deal with drunk text messages and phone calls and trying to get over you over and over again every time you woke up sober apologizing."

Bonnie looks down ashamed at the truths that are just building and building against her. What the hell is wrong with her?

"And you know not every guy dreams about his first time in some pornographic way with a Victoria secret model and three of her Victoria secret model friends. Some of us may it be a small percentage, think of it being with the girl that they've been in love with since they were in the 7th grade." Bonnie feels her body trembling and her lip quivering from trying to hold back her tears. "If you want to be stupid and give this up then do it, put me out of my misery but it will not be because _I _wasn't mature enough it will be because _you_ weren't."

With that he walks away from her. She watches him reach the other side of the square and then disappear around a corner. She should be running after him. She should be running after him and telling him that she felt everything he did, that she wanted him just as bad as he wanted her, that she . . . that she _loved him._ But he was right: she was scared and she didn't know how to _not_ be scared and until she figure that out and talked with Elena they wouldn't get very far. And she realized standing there under the sky, as the next session of fireworks lit the night that she wanted them to go as far as they possibly could. She had to stop running away. Jeremy Gilbert was her new favorite thing. _He_ was her magic. And she _would_ be stupid if she let him go.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, beautiful readers! Here is another chapter fresh off the press. Once again thank you so much for reviewing. I really appreciate your kinds words about my story. I'm so happy that I decided to share my writing with you all. This is really fun. Just so you all know there will probably be two more chapters. I don't want it to be too long and drag out and then become boring. I honestly don't know what is going to happen once I start writing even if I have a plan. The characters kind of tell me where the story is going to go and these characters are telling me its going to come to an end. But don't worry I've already started to think of a new story and I'll provide the info for that once this story ends. Anywho, here is the next chapter! Its a little angsty like the last one but just bare with me things will get cheery soon enough. ;) Enjoy and review! **

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"Hey, Car," Bonnie says when Caroline opens the door. Caroline smiles and motions for Bonnie to come inside her house by holding the door open wide enough for her to walk through. Bonnie walks into the living room and plops down on the sofa.

"Hey, Car? That's what you wanted to say at one in the morning that you couldn't say over the phone?" Caroline ask sitting beside her dramatizing a yawn. Bonnie shrugs.

"Sorry," She says. "Is your mom here?" Caroline shakes her head. Her mom was never home. She barely ever saw her and that was how she liked it. Caroline takes note of her slightly puffy eyes and brushes her cheek warmly with her thumb.

"What's going on, Bon? Talk to me. Is this about Jeremy?" she asks. Bonnie looks at her and bites her lip thoughtfully and takes a deep breath. Caroline smiles at her warmly egging her on to come clean. Bonnie closes her eyes and before she can stop them the tears stream down her face. Caroline's arms are around her instantly protecting her.

"I slept with Jeremy." She says through her tears. Caroline's mouth falls open.

"You slept with Jeremy?" Caroline says once her voice has come back to her. "When? Just now?" Bonnie shakes her head and tries to stifle a laugh. She wasn't sure how Caroline could make her laugh when her heart was so heavy but that was the joy of being friends with her. Bonnie dries her face feeling silly for crying for the 3rd time today. All she was doing this summer was crying. She gives Caroline the reader's digest version of what happened during spring break and the months after it once she returned back to school.

"And I thought that when I came back we could just be friends and everything would be forgotten but it wasn't." She says at the end of her story. It felt good to be honest finally with someone even if it wasn't Elena. One step at a time she figured, one step at a time.

"So Jeremy freaked out on you the night I called you on your shit at the bar?" Caroline asks.

"Yes and he is…incorrigible." She says shaking her head. "No matter what I say he won't let it go. He won't stop calling me or texting me or telling me exactly how he feels. And today at the carnival he told he's…"

"In love with you," Caroline says matter-of-factly. Bonnie nods. She turns to face Caroline folding one of her legs underneath the other and sitting her hands in her lap.

"And how do you feel about him?" she asks.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asks.

"Are you in love with him?" Bonnie is taken aback by her bluntness but only for a second. It was Caroline. Of course she'd be blunt.

"I can't just say that aloud." Caroline shakes his head knowingly.

"You're in love with him." She says smiling.

"Car," Bonnie says warning her not to make light of the situation.

"You are totally in love with Jeremy! Ha!" She says pointing. "You slept with you're best friend's little brother and liked the hell out it. Admit it."

"You are ridiculous," Bonnie says and sighs putting her face in her hands. But she can't help but smile. She's silent for several seconds and when she looks at Caroline again her eyes are still on her.

"Yes," She says breathlessly answering her question reluctantly. "I am in love with Jeremy Gilbert and it scares the shit out of me."

"Yes!" Caroline says victorious. "Now all we have to do is tell Elena."

"But what if she freaks out and tries to kill me?"

"She won't." Caroline says. "Look, Bonnie. You have always been so hard on yourself for no reason. You are amazing and it was only a matter of time before someone realized that and wanted you all to themselves. Is it the ideal situation? Probably not but that doesn't mean its wrong. Elena is _not_ going to be mad. She loves you. She loves her brother. And ultimately all she is going to care about it that the two of you are happy. I _promise_ you. Everything is going to be ok." Bonnie nods wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"Just talk to Elena. I'm sure she'd rather he be with you than any other older woman that has tried to dig their nails into him." Bonnie chuckles slightly. Elena _has_ dealt with a share of cougars she just never thought she'd be one of them.

"Ok," She says. "I'll talk to her."

"So Elena I need to talk to you about something." Bonnie is sitting like a pretzel on Elena's sofa. It's Friday night and they've gone through two bottles of wine, two boxes of pizza, and two bowls of nachos. They were now officially sporting food babies and a nice buzz. Caroline opens her eyes and looks at Bonnie from the love seat giving her a look. Bonnie nods her head answering her silent question. She was ready for this. Elena is seated next to Bonnie. She looks at her friend's nervous face and sits up paying attention.

"What's up?" she says.

"I've been waiting for the right time to tell you but it just hasn't ever been the right time." Elena smoothes out her ponytail her elbow leaning on the arm of the sofa..

"Well there's no time like the present," She says smiling and puts her arm around Bonnie's shoulders supportively. Bonnie licks her dry lips. She closes her eyes and sighs deeply.

"I slept with Jeremy a couple of months ago." Bonnie says softly. The room is silent for several seconds.

"What?" Elena says.

"I-I slept with Jeremy." Elena removes her arm from around Bonnie's shoulder in a snap and slides all the way to the other end of the sofa.

"You slept with my little brother?" Bonnie nods.

"But I can explain…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She spits.

"Elena!" Caroline says shocked.

"Are you that desperate that you'll take advantage of a kid?"

"Elena, just let her explain." Caroline says.

"Your 22 years old. He's a kid. He's a teenager."

"Please, Elena, if you just let me explain…." Elena stands up continuously shaking her head.

"Was this some sort of fantasy, huh?"

"No!"

"You knew about this Caroline? You two were hiding it from me?"

"It's not a conspiracy Elena just calm down and we'll all talk about it rationally." Caroline says. Bonnie knew this was how it would happen. She knew Elena would act this way.

"Jeremy was a virgin. He told me that. He tells me everything. We're best friends. Was it some sort of bet or a dare?" She asks.

"What kind of person do you think I am?" Bonnie says tears filling her eyes.

"The kind of _person _who goes around taking the virginity of 18 year olds!"

"It's not even like that, Elena! It just…It wasn't planned. It just sort of happened."

"Did you slip and fall in his lap…naked?"

"NO!" Bonnie screams getting up from the sofa and yelling in Elena's face at the top of her lungs. Elena is taken aback by her anger and staggers back slightly. Caroline stands up and gets in between them.

"Everybody sit the hell down!" Caroline yells. Bonnie and Elena sit back on the sofa on opposite ends. Caroline sits on the coffee table. "Now we are going to talk about this like the mature adults we are. We are _not_ going to yell at each other. That is not what we do. Understand?" Bonnie nods. She tries to control her breathing which had been temporarily compromised. Elena glares at Bonnie and nods shortly. "Ok. Now talk." Bonnie swallows thickly.

"I didn't mean for this to happen, Elena. I know he's your brother and he's almost four years younger than us. Believe me I have been torturing myself for months about this. I know I'm wrong and if it were anybody else in this situation we'd probably make fun of them forever but it's not. It's us. It affects are circle. I did not mean to keep it from you. I should have told you when it first happened but I thought that if I kept it a secret then nobody would get hurt but I was wrong about that too." Elena's nostrils flare in thought as she tries to evaluate what Bonnie just said. She stares at her best friend that she has known. She sees the confliction in her eyes and feels it in her heart. She sighs deeply and it comes out in a low groan.

"My little brother, Bonnie? I mean out of all the guys in this town you picked my dorky brother?" She says incredulously.

"If you haven't noticed, Elena, you're brother is _not_ a little kid anymore." Caroline says feeling like it's a good time to interject. "Can you really blame Bonnie for seeing how awesome he is?" Elena chews on her lower lip looking at Caroline pensively.

"How did it happen exactly? I mean I don't want to know the full details but you know…" She swallows trying to slow her heart rate. Bonnie wipes her cheeks dry.

"Spring break while you two were away on your trip we worked the closing shift at the Grill together. We'd lock up at night and then stay for hours after cleaning up, hanging out, me giving him bartending lessons." Elena nods her head urging for her to continue her temper pacified by her curiosity.

"He was completely charming and completely masculine and completely something I never expected. We became friends and I got to know this whole other side of him that I never knew was there and I developed a crush on him." She smiles slightly and clears her throat. "And then that night when I said I was going home to go to bed I ended up here." Elena's eyes narrow and she shakes her head.

"This is completely surreal." She says. She exhales sitting back up and runs her hands through her hair. "So what happened? What's Jeremy's position on this?"

"Well I told him it was a mistake and that it could never happen again because I knew it was young. His age, you're opinion of it. I just thought it was all just a bad idea."

"Well that must have sucked for him," Elena says shaking her head knowing her brother.

"It did. I was completely confused because of what happened and how it happened and you. I didn't want you to hate me. He was really hurt but he didn't let it show. We made a deal that we'd just forget it ever happened and it was easy when I was away at school but once we came home for the summer it just didn't work and he told me the deal was off. He's been completely stubborn and completely . . . Jeremy." She says, the last few words are spoken in a soft tone and the small smile on her lips brings her face back to life.

"Oh my God," Elena's mouth drops open. Bonnie breaks out of her trance.

"What?" She says.

"You're in love with my brother?" The room is dead silent. Bonnie looks at Caroline. Caroline looks at Elena. Elena looks at Bonnie still waiting for the answer.

"I'm. . ." Bonnie starts but her voice fades off as they all hear the door opening. Jeremy enters the living room. He's completely drenched from head to toe from the summer rain outside. He removes his coat and hangs it on the coat rack by the stairs. The girls just watch him.

"Hey," He says as he heads up the stairs to change his eyes landing on Bonnie for a few seconds longer than the others. Elena catches the look on his face and she looks at Bonnie as she watches him until he has disappeared up the stairs. She was protective of her brother. He and her mom were all she had left when it came to family but she knew she had no right butting into his personal relationships. It was weird. It was weird as _fuck_. But she guessed she could get use to the idea. She loved Bonnie. She was like a sister to her and who knows maybe one day she would really be her sister. Who was she to stop it from happening?

"So," She says to Bonnie who is still staring at the staircase in longing. "Are you going to tell him that you are in love with him or should I?" Bonnie looks at Elena her eyes wide.

"What?" Bonnie says a smile playing at her lips.

Elena moves closer to her on the sofa. "It sucks that you didn't tell me at the very beginning. It's weird but Caroline's right." Caroline looks a little shocked too.

"Right, yes. I am right." Caroline says nodding. Bonnie laughs.

"All that matters is he is happy and if you make him happy then I guess that's ok. I'd rather he be with you then any other skank in Mystic Falls." She says poking her nose teasingly. Bonnie nods and pulls her into a hug.

"Aww! Yay!" Caroline exclaims turning the hug into a group one causing them all to laugh. Bonnie holds back her tears knowing that there was nothing to cry about. She has told her best friend. A weight had lifted off her shoulders. Now all she had to do was tell Jeremy and hoped that he was still all in.


	7. Chapter 7

**Jesus-freaking-Christ! I am sooo sorry for not posting for a while. I had a case of writer's block and my last semester of college started so I was super busy, plus work was 50 Shades of Cray Cray. WHEW! I finally got some time to be able to think with a clear head and write this for you guys. I wanted it to be perfect. After everything that has happened I wanted things to come full circle and you love it. So here it is. I hope you love it. I really, really do. Chapter 8 will be a few months in the future so look forward to that. Thanks again for all the support and for sticking with me through this. Its been soo fun! You are the best! Ok! Enjoy! :)**

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Bonnie knocks lightly on Jeremy's bedroom door. She waits a few seconds and then opens it slowly. Jeremy is sitting at his computer desk his ears blocked by a headset. He turns his head sensing movement. Bonnie bites her lip nervously when he looks at her and closes the door behind her. She tries to focus on his face and not his bare chest which one again proves that he's far more mature than any 18 year old she has ever known. Jeremy removes his headphones and turns his body around in the chair so he is facing her.

"Hey," Jeremy says. Bonnie doesn't speak; she just keeps staring at him. She looks around the room hoping to find her voice somewhere on the rug. She walks further into the room. He stands up and the gray sweat pants he is wearing aren't helping her any. They hang low off his hips making her lips instantly dry. She sighs deeply.

"If I'm going to say this you have to put on a shirt." She says swallowing. Jeremy smirks but covers it with a slight cough.

"You can't come in my room making rules." He says sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Last time I was here you didn't mind me taking the lead." She says before she can stop herself. Jeremy's eyes narrow. Bonnie clears her throat.

"Does Elena need me or something?"

"No, they're sleeping. Lots of food and lots of wine. You know how it gets." Jeremy nods. Bonnie bites her lip again. Jeremy just stares at her.

"I talked to Elena." She blurts out.

"About what?" he asks.

"About us," Jeremy tilts his head to the side staring at her.

"And how'd that go?" he asks calmly.

"Not so good. Well not so good at first but then she put the knife down and we were able to talk rationally." Jeremy nods his head.

"That's great." He says simply. Bonnie just stares at him. She wasn't expecting that reaction. She wasn't expecting the scene from _The Notebook _either but a happy medium would have sufficed.

"Is that . . . is that all you have to say?" She asks. Jeremy scratches his chest, his smooth, toned, chest that Bonnie is finding really hard to ignore.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Aren't you happy?"

"Ecstatic." He says emphasizing each syllabus. Bonnie's eyes narrow.

"I thought this is what you wanted?"

"No this is what you wanted."

"So, what, I facing Elena don't matter? Things are just going to be at a standstill either way?" Jeremy turns his back on her and sits back at his desk.

"I never gave two shits about what Elena thought about _our_ relationship, Bonnie. That was all you. So now that you're conscious is clear everything can go back to normal." Bonnie shakes her head clear. What the _hell_ was happening right now? This was not how it was suppose to go. She was supposed to tell him she talked to Elena and then he was supposed to kiss her face off. She wasn't sure why it wasn't happening or what she was doing wrong.

"Normal?" she says.

"Yes. You can go back to being Bonnie and I can go back to being Jeremy. Everybody wins. No one is hurt. Everything's perfect." Jeremy stares at her confused face for a few seconds and then plugs his headphone in again. Bonnie keeps staring at him from across the room and then she walks up to him and snatches the ear phones out of his ear.

"What the _fu-_" he says. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing? What is your problem? What do you want from me?"

"Nothing,"

"Nothing?" Bonnie says folding her arms across her chest.

"Nope,"

"Now who's lying?" she asks. Jeremy just stares at her. "Jeremy, I talked to Elena-"

"To clear your guilt," He says standing abruptly to face her. Bonnie doesn't step back or jump at his movement. She's done running away. "To make sure that you and Elena stay _best friends_. I get it. I got it. It's good. Now, please, leave my room."

"Or what?" She says. "What if I don't leave? What if I stay right here? What if I don't leave and I stay right here in your face? What are you going to do?" They stare at each other intensely and Bonnie's eyes involuntarily drop to his lips.

"Leave," Jeremy says swallowing thickly.

"No," she says.

"I already told you there's nothing here for you." He says. Bonnie steps closer to him their bodies inches apart. Jeremy steps back but Bonnie stops him wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him into her.

"I told Elena for us so we can really do this, Jeremy." She says softly.

"You can't keep doing this to me."

"Doing what? I'm trying to talk to you. Show you. . ."

"You can't just expect me to be okay with you flip flopping and changing your mind whenever you please."

"I want you." She says. Jeremy swallows thickly.

"And if I kiss you right now and we end up in my bed what will happen in the morning?" Bonnie licks her dry lips glancing at his bed letting memories surface willingly for the first time in months.

"I'll. . ." He doesn't let her finish the sentence he gets out of her grip on him and walks across the room. Distance was what they needed.

"Bonnie, I need you to go. I'm happy that you aren't weighed down by this secret anymore. I never wanted it to be that way for you. And it feels really good to hear you say you want me and want us but it's not what I want anymore. You hurt me. Yes, I'm a guy and I'm not afraid to say that. Maybe you're right. Maybe we just need to find people . . . our own ages."

"No." Bonnie says shaking her head feeling hallow from him leaving her arms. She feels tears burning her eyeballs fighting to get out. She didn't like this. She didn't like hearing this.

"Yes," Jeremy says. "And you're going back to school anyway. It's just probably not a good idea. I shouldn't have pressured you."

"No, I'm glad you did pressure me." Bonnie says trying to find the words she needed to say to make him stop. They're words overlap as Jeremy continues to talk not really listening to what Bonnie is saying and wondering if he is even talking to Bonnie at all as his face is plastered to the floor.

"It was wrong of me to push."

"No, its good you pushed. I needed to be pushed." she says desperately.

"I can be really persistent and it can be a bad thing sometimes."

"But it was good this time. It was good." She says.

"So I'm sorry for that."

"Don't be sorry." She sighs deeply.

"But we can be friends."

"I don't want to be friends."

"And there won't be any animosity or drama or anything."

"But Jeremy. . ." She whines. She had to say it. If he would just let her talk she could say it and he'd know she was serious. It scared the shit out of her but she had to do it. It was time.

"It'll be back to normal."

"But, Jeremy, I love you!" she shouts over him. Jeremy stops talking and looks at her his head snapping up.

"Wh-What?" He stammers. Bonnie walks slowly toward him again.

"I'm glad you pushed and pressured me and were persistent and that there was drama and animosity and that you yelled at me and made me stop being so stupid and think because once I did I realized that I love you. I love you so much and I don't care. I don't care about any of the things I said to you at the Barbeque. Of course I wanted Elena to know and understand that it wasn't my intention to lie to her but I was scared. You were right. And I don't want to be anymore." Jeremy opens his mouth to speak but Bonnie holds her hand up to silence him. She needed to get it all out now or she never would.

"I have not stopped thinking about you since that night we shared. I miss you all day every day and I thought this was just something they made up so that romantic movies would be more entertaining but it's not. It's so real. Even now when I'm standing right in front of you I can't think because my heart is just beating out of my chest and all I want to do is kiss you and touch you and be as close to you as possible. You have . . . turned my entire world upside down. I didn't think I could feel this way about anyone but it's happened and I don't want it to stop. I love you, Jeremy Gilbert." Jeremy continues to stare at her.

"Ok," He finally manages to say thickly. Bonnie stands directly in front of him smiling slightly. Jeremy looks down trying to hide his face and that's when she sees it. His eyes are glazed over with tears and his jaw is clenched as he tries to hold them back. Bonnie lets her own rain freely down her cheeks. He leans against his window pane and then looks up at her as a tear falls from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Jer." She says wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him tear streaked cheek before burying her face in his chest. He pulls her into his arms and kisses her hair hugging her for dear life.

"Ok . . . I just . . . I don't care. I just love you so much." He says breathlessly and captures her lips so fiercely that it takes Bonnie's breath away. She responds almost instantly and allows him to scoop her up and walk her to the bed. This time when he woke in the morning she wouldn't be gone she'd be right there snuggled up against him until they were both ready to face the world . . . together.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, beautiful readers! I am soo, sooo, soooo sorry that it took me so long to write this epilogue for you guys. Its my last semester in college and I'm taking 6 classes and I totally underestimated how much work I would have to deal with. It has been absolutely crazy for me. I finally got some down time since the semester is coming to a close and the first thing I thought was write, write, write! So here I am with the final chapter of A Summer to Remember. I hope you like it. :)**

"I don't get what the big deal is…" Jeremy Gilbert pours the contents of the mixer he just finished shaking vigorously into a glass and slides it in front of his girlfriend, Bonnie Bennett. Bonnie sighs deeply.

"Everyone is going to think that you are staying in Mystic Falls because of me." Jeremy shakes his head.

"Let them think what they want. I don't care. And I'll tell them just like I told Elena and my mom it's not _just _about you, Bon. I'm just not interested in going away to college. I never was the school type." Bonnie takes a sip of her lemon drop martini and smiles. _Perfect_. She taught him well.

"But you could study literature."

"I can study literature on my own like I have for the past 18 years…by reading and talking to you about it." Bonnie smiles.

"Honestly, Bon, school is just not for me. Not everyone is a college person. I'd much rather take a trade and then get a job right away and make money. I'm perfectly ok with that. That's my dream."

"And you want to study bartending?" Bonnie says trying to see his point.

"Yes, I really do. Of course one of the main reasons I wanted to learn was because I wanted to get close to you." Bonnie shakes her head smiling. He was revealing a lot about his actual motives these past few months now that they were together. "But I also enjoy it. It's fun and you never know maybe I'll open my own place one day." Jeremy clears the bar of his lemon drop tools and takes a sip of his own drink.

"I love you and of course I want to be with you but you coming back to Mystic Falls in a few more months is not my _only_ reason for deciding this. I decided on my own. It's my choice."

Bonnie takes another sip of her martini. It was closing time at the Mystic Grill. It was the beginning of winter. Bonnie was home for her winter break. It had been 4 months since Bonnie and Jeremy made it official in his bedroom that night. 4 months of laughter, love, and longing once she had to return to school for her last year. They talked at least once a day and took turns visiting each other. They had a nice system going and it wasn't hard at all. She never cared for long distance relationships but she realized that when two people were completely invested in each other the distance didn't really matter. Of course there were times when she wished that he could cuddle with her bed or times when she just needed a hug from him and couldn't have it but she learned to take the bad with the good. Ultimately she loved Jeremy and nothing would change that.

When it was time for him to fill out college applications, Bonnie knew that the subject would be sour for the both of them. The tables would turn and he would be away instead of her. But when he told her he wanted to stay in Mystic Falls she assumed it was all because of her. But of course Jeremy Gilbert was anything but naive. He had a plan that he was passionate about and nothing was going to stop him. She was proud of him. She believed in him. She wanted whatever he wanted.

"So M.F.C.C. to get your bartending license, working here part-time, and then what, you going to steal my job?" Bonnie says smiling softly at him. She finishes her martini and lick her lips. He just might steal her job with the way he was making the drinks. He was a grasshopper no more.

"That is the plan." He says chuckling. "I'm pretty sure it isn't stealing. Its replacing since someone got an offer from Mystic Falls Publishing when they graduate." Bonnie smiles nodding her head.

"That's right I did." She says squealing. Reading books for a living was her dream and she was going to live it and she couldn't be more excited.

"I still can't believe that. I interned with them two summers ago. I didn't expect them to remember me."

"I don't know why." Jeremy leans his elbows on the bar in front of her and holds his head up with his balled fists. "You're amazing. How could anyone forget you?" Bonnie blushes.

"You and the one liners." She says shaking her head. He smiles. She leans in and kisses him. She falls into it closing her eyes and taking in the fact that he was all hers and that look in his eyes when they broke apart was only reserved for her.

"I'm going to marry you, Bonnie Bennett." He says after sighing deeply. Bonnie giggles.

"I wish you would stop saying that. A girl could get a complex."

"Get it because it's going to happen." Bonnie shakes her head. She knows he is only joking when he says that after all they haven't even been together a year but she had to admit she liked the sound of it. She knew it was light years away but she loved him so much with every part of herself that she couldn't imagine feeling it for anyone else ever again.

"You're so silly. Let's go. Movie night with Elena and Caroline." Bonnie jumps down from her stool and slides it underneath the bar. Jeremy comes from behind the bar and follows her to the front door.

"I think I'm going to go over to Matt's and hang out for a bit." Bonnie nods.

"That's cool. Sneak into your room later?" She says with a mischievous grin on her face. Jeremy grins widely.

"Sure thing." He says laughing slightly. "Bet you'll be glad when we don't have to do that anymore." Bonnie nods smiling warmly. As a graduation present her father put down money on an apartment for her. She would move in after graduation with Caroline and Elena. Everything seemed to be falling into place and she loved it. She had everything she wanted and she knew that there was more to come.

They excited the grill and walk down the street of Mystic Falls holding hands. Reaching the crosswalk they stop. He needing to go towards Matt's while she needing to go towards Caroline's in the opposite direction.

"See you later," She says sweetly. Jeremy kisses her cheek pulling her into his body and nibbling on her ear playfully. She giggles swatting at him. She walks off towards Caroline's and looks back at him staring at her. "I'm going to marry you Jeremy Gilbert." She says to herself. She knew it was far off but she would do everything in her power to make it happen. The past summer had been one to remember but the love they had for each other would last far beyond that she just knew it.

The End

**Thank you so much for reading my story and sticking with me until the end. I had so much fun writing this and your reviews really gave me the confidence to keep going and keep writing. So thank you, thank you, thank you. :) I have a new story in the works so if you liked this and you like me *cheese* then please look out for my next story. Its going to be called What Makes a Family. It will be a Damon and Elena centered story but will also include Jeremy and all of the gang so give it a chance before you turn it away. It will be AU and I think you will like it. :) Once again thanks for reading and I'll see you next time hopefully! ;)**


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